Is there any room for writers on the Internet these days?

Remember that massive rant I wrote a few months ago, in which I talked at (very) great length about how people keep saying blogging has changed, but it hasn’t, really – or not as much as people like to think, anyway?

Well, I stand by that. I still think a lot of the “changes” people tend to complain about are mostly changes in themselves – specifically, they tend to be the “changes” they notice when they decide to make the switch from hobby blogging to professional blogging: two things that seem like they should be the same, but which are actually completely different.

As I said in that post, though (somewhere in that post…) that’s not to say that blogging hasn’t changed AT ALL. There are some differences between what it’s like to be a pro-blogger now, in 2o15, and what it was like a few years ago, and the biggest one I’ve noticed is a movement away from blogs being purely about writing, and having to encompass a whole range of other skills, too. For instance…

Images are so much more important

A few weeks ago I spent literally hours one day taking photos for the blog (not outfit photos, either, just images to accompany posts like this one…) only for every single one to end up blurry, poorly lit, or just downright awful. A few years ago, this wouldn’t even have been a consideration for me, because a few years ago, blogging was primarily based around writing, and all you had to do was type out your post, hit “publish”, and call it a day. The only blogs that had photos on them were either dedicated photography blogs, or sites which talked mostly about products, and needed photos of the product in question: and even those blogs didn’t really place a lot of emphasis on the photos – they were often tiny and pretty boring, really, but no one cared, because it was all about the writing.

Now, though? Now even the posts that don’t actually NEED a photo (like this one, for instance) feel kinda naked without one, so blogging is as much about imagery as it is about writing. Don’t get me wrong, I do like this change, for the most part: blogs are brighter, bolder and far more visually interesting these days, and I guess that’s WHY imagery has become so important. For people like me, however, while photography/creating images can be fun, it does make your job a whole lot more challenging: writing has always come fairly easily to me, but photography I have to work at, so putting together a blog post is far more time-consuming these days than it used to be.

It’s not as easy to be anti-social

Back in the days of Livejournal et al, blogging was seen as a bit of a geeky pastime, really. It was what you did if you were a bit shy, or awkward or anti-social, and I for one am all of those things, so I leapt at the chance to be able to communicate with people without having to be around them all day. I realise that will sound super-strange to the extroverts amongst you, but I have a lot of social anxiety, and meeting new people is always a bit of an ordeal for me, no matter how nice they are, so blogging was perfect for me, really.

And now? Now it’s all blogger meetups and PR events, and while I know the social aspect of blogging is part of the appeal for some people (and one of the reasons it’s become so much more popular), for those of us who just want to write, and not deal with all that other stuff, it’s not so much fun, and can actually be pretty stressful. (Of course, you can just ignore all of that, and that’s what I do, for the most part: I do have to spend a lot of time explaining why I don’t want to attend tons of events every week, though, and then feeling like I’m being a “bad blogger” by not getting more involved in things that wouldn’t even have come up a few years ago. I also sometimes wonder if my blog would be more successful if I was the kind of person who jumped at the chance to go to a new event every evening…)

Social media. Just… social media.

Probably THE biggest change to blogging since… well, ever, really. Back in the day, social media first of all didn’t exist, then, even when it DID exist, it took a while for it to become a “thing”. I mean, I’d been on Twitter for God knows how long before it suddenly occurred to me that, hey, maybe I should post links to my blog from this thing? Now, of course, social media is one of the biggest sources of traffic to blogs, and it’s hard (for me) to imagine blogging without it. With that said, social media isn’t always a change for the better, either – I for one find it a bit overwhelming at times: it can be hard to stay on top of all of the various social media accounts AND keep a blog (or blogs) running, and I sometimes miss the days when all of the interaction took place in the comment section, and you didn’t have to go searching all over the internet for people’s responses to your posts.

As with the socialising I talked about above, you obviously COULD just completely ignore social media, and blog away in your own little bubble. While it probably wouldn’t be impossible to do that, however, I do have a feeling it would make it much harder to get a blog off the ground and make it grow: quite apart from the role social media plays in driving traffic to blogs, there’s also an expectation that bloggers interact with readers and brands, and I think it would be short-sighted to just bury your head in the sand and think you could create a super-successful blogging business while effectively shutting yourself off from the world.

Video is starting to take over

Finally, one of the most worrying changes for people like me is the extent to which video is starting to take over the blogging world. You Tube has been around for years, obviously, but it feels like it’s only in the last few years that we started to see the rise of the You Tube star, many of whom have become internet “celebrities”, and now everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon.

Along with You Tube, there’s also stuff like Periscope, Google hangouts, increasing use of video on Instagram and Snapchat… sometimes it feels like it’s not enough to just be a writer now: you almost have to become some kind of media “personality” who’s totally comfortable in front of the camera. The problem with that, of course, is that many of us just AREN’T: in fact, I’d guess that many of the “old school” bloggers – the ones who got into it because we can express ourselves in writing much better than we can in person – will be particularly uncomfortable with this move towards video, and live-broadcasting. I know I am: I quite often get requests from brands to take part in Google hangouts, or to film videos and I’m always a bit taken aback by it, because I’m like, ME? Make a video? Are you joking?

The things is, writing and presenting are two totally different skill-sets – TOTALLY different. Obviously you’re always going to find some people who are good at both, but I don’t think it necessarily stands to reason that someone who’s good at writing will also be good at presenting. I’m often amazed when brands offer to pay me to create video content for them without ever having seen me try to do anything like that: I mean, I’m flattered, obviously, but I always say no, because talking to camera just isn’t part of my skillset, and I know they’d be disappointed when I sent them a video of me sitting there like a rabbit in the headlights, bright red with embarrassment, and stumbling over every second word. Ditto the people who ask me to come and speak at their conferences etc – again, I’m flattered that they think I’d be good at that, but also quite surprised that they’d make that assumption without ever having SEEN me do it: especially given how much I’ve written about being socially awkward/shy/introverted.

* * *

So, IS there any room left for writers on the internet of 2015? I hope so. Because, of course, we’re still here: we might be having to learn some new skills, and we might end up feeling a little bit left behind, or even drowned out by the videos, and the social media stars, and the people who are good all-rounders, but there ARE still bloggers who just write, and don’t worry about all the rest of it. There aren’t quite as many of them, though, and I sometimes find myself wondering if writing is enough these days, or it’s still possible to have a successful blog without having to become good at photography, video editing and public speaking, too.

Hi, I'm Amber, and I'm a full-time parenting/lifestyle blogger, and author of My Blogging Secrets, now available from Amazon. I live in Scotland with my husband, Terry, and baby son, Max, and you can read more about me here.

You may also like

51 comments

It’s funny, because a lot of the things you’ve listed here are why I don’t read many blogs anymore! I don’t really like videos unless it’s a specific tutorial that I’ve selected on my own time; I want something different from blogs. I get irritated when I see an article or post link, click on it, and then discover it’s a video– for a start they’re much more demanding of time, as you can’t come-and-go with them like you can writing. (I read this post over half an hour, for example. Not impossible with a video, but they’re usually designed to be consumed in one sitting so it always feels slightly jarring.)

Now that’s just me, but I don’t think I’m alone in feeling there will always be a place for good writing. Some blogs look beautiful but the writing doesn’t hook me. I’ll more likely follow them on Instagram than actually bother reading full posts. It’s nice when someone can combine both, such as yourself with the aesthetics of this blog, but it’s the writing I ultimately come back for.

I’m not a fan of videos either. Like you, I’ll go to them for tutorials, but only if I can’t find a photo tutorial instead, because I hate the fact that I just want to know how to do a particular hairstyle, say, but first I have to sit through 20 minutes of the vlogger telling me to brush my hair first, and this is the brush they use, and this is WHY they picked that brush, and this is HOW they brush their hair, and then I have to WATCH them brushing their hair… AARGH! I know that sounds rich coming from someone who rambles as much as I do (and I know they do it because if they don’t they’ll just get a hundred comments saying, “OMG, where did U get UR brush?!” and asking if they have any hair brushing tips…), but I think it’s easier to skim a blog post and find the information you’re looking for than it is to search through a video!

I so do hope that there is still room for all of us whos main talent is writing. My blog is still really small but I hope that I some day will get my words out to people and also make a little bit of money from it. I’m dealing with a lot of anxiety so for me it’s not blogging or get an other job. There is just blogging, and it has helped me feel so much better about my self.

For me the most important thing when it comes to blogs will always be the writing. And I hope I’m not alone about feeling this way. /love Ida

Agree with the first comment – I don’t read blogs because I want to watch videos. In fact, I find it irritating if anything to read a post with no writing and just a link to a video, which essentially IS the post – usually I’m reading on the train with poor connection or at work so I can’t watch it even if I want to. But I mostly don’t want to because I’m a reader, not a watcher. I’ve always read books and magazines and preferred them over films. I find it really hard to sit through a film without getting bored, but books and magazines are completely different. So while there’s people who choose to read their content, surely blogging can’t go completely over to the dark side? I hope not anyway, as I’m not currently prepared to ever film a video where I’m actually, gasp, talking!

I find it annoying, too – I share an office with Terry, so I have the sound muted most of the time anyway, and can never be bothered going and getting out my earbuds so I can watch a video. I like seeing the occasional video from bloggers I follow, but I do feel a bit disappointed when I click through to what I think is going to be a blog post, only to find it’s just a video with no accompanying text!

It might be an idea, but only if it’s JUST a video – I don’t mind if there’s a blog post which also contains a video, but if it’s literally just a video then there’s no point in me clicking through, because I’m not going to watch it (I mean, I do watch some, but only if I go back to them when I’ve got time, or I happen to have my earbuds in anyway or something!), so I guess a disclaimer in the title would help. With that said, it’s not like it’s a huge deal to click on a link, so when I say it “disappoints” me, I don’t mean it in an “end of the world” kinda way 🙂

While obviously pretty pictures are lovely, one of the reasons why I return so often to your blog is indeed because you do have writing, of polished quality and decent length. I find that while I sometimes enjoy browsing image-heavy blogs for ten minutes, the only blogs I actually enjoy are the ones which do feature writing. While obviously technological changes have fostered and encouraged a culture based on images, I think readers always flock to the internet, and the internet always has something for readers. So long as we keep coming for writing, there will be space for writers around.

Yes, I agree with Toni. I only come back to a blog when I like the writing. If I want to watch videos I go to Youtube, or if I want to look at photos I just follow someone on Instagram. But, yes, I guess you have to be really good at it to be able to succeed relying on just writing by itself.

I just wish brands would listen to this! It’s really heartening to know that there are still plenty of people who want to read text, but I’m finding that brands are more and more leaning towards wanting you to do video as well, because they seem to assume that’s what people want now. I’m glad to know that’s not necessarily the case, but I do think there are a lot of bloggers going down that path now because they think that’s what they *should* be doing!

I really enjoyed this post and am so glad I am not the only one who doesn’t want to do videos! I think that each person can do what they like but I will just be sticking to the writing and photography.

I agree! I think we have to diversify our skills so much more now. I have certainly felt the pressure to perform in different ways. However, I do enjoy making videos and have done for years but didn’t think I’d be good enough. I guess I grew confident through blogging, found my voice there and now feel able to express myself through video as well. I guess I’m lucky in that I enjoy doing that. But the pressure to be AMAZING at all of the social media as well is quite intense.

And, yes I do enjoy the more word-y type bloggers. That’s why I keep coming back here! 🙂

I still much prefer the written word over a youtube video, the medium just doesn’t appeal to me as much. There’s a few youtubers I occasionally watch, I dunno, I feel that’s for the younger market? I just think of Zoella et al when it comes to youtubers and that doesn’t appeal to me. So, yes, for me, writing is a big part, and if a blog is well written, smart and funny, it’s a pure joy to read.

Videos generally annoy me, although once in a while it’s fine. it all depends on the type of blog. If it’s music then I would expect some links to videos etc.

I myself don’t want to start making videos. I like to have a good read and see some good photos accompanying said text, which is how I want to keep my blog. Given that for the time being I’m working as well, how would I fit all these things in?

I feel the same as the first poster. A nice lengthy blog post is to be savoured over a coffee, and when I get up to pour myself another I can go straight back to the text.

I definitely prefer the well written/nice pictures combo, hence why I like your blog Amber 🙂 Like others, I only watch videos for a specific purpose. It’s partially my preference, & partially because I read blogs when my husband/children are playing/gaming/reading/watching TV in the same room & I don’t want to have headphones in.

I only came across your blog very recently via Twitter I think. I enjoy reading it. I read it in my own voice, it just wouldn‘t be the same if in a Vlog (is that the right name?) your real voice differed significantly from the person I already have in my head. Its a bit like when you read a book first, the film is never how you imagined things to be. I hope written blogs never die out, apart from music most of the content on YouTube has me reaching for the off button.

I agree with you that images are becoming more important but I think more because standards of photography and people’s expectations have evolved. We live in a visual world and we’re becoming more and more bombared with visual images so if you want to stand out, they do have to be good. However, having said that I actually found the images you used in this blog post annoying! Don’t get me wrong, they’re beautiful. I love flowers and shoes but there was little relevance to the post other than they were strong images! I honestly wouldn’t have missed them if they weren’t there. And this is coming from someone who is a very visual person! Headers to break up the screen, yes. White space, absolutely yes.

I read many different types of blog that in many cases are less image dependent or where the images really HAVE to have relevance to back up the written word as in fitness/anatomy/movement blogs. And sometimes the saying of a picture paints a thousand words is so very true. However, I still need it to be backed up by words. Well written, well researched blogs packed with info are worth their weight in gold to me because I go to blogs to read. I’ll to to pinterest or instagram for visuals. So much of print journalism and a large chunk of blogging has become diluted so I value and return to blogs whose written content has sustance such as yours (even though I rarely comment).

I’m a fence sitter about video creeping into blogging. Videos absolutely have their place. Done well, they can be extremely informative but so often they are done badly and frankly the content is lame. I’m less enamoured about the rise of internet celebrities and have even more disdain for people who ‘feel’ they should do something simply because everyone else seems to be doing it, without making a critical decision as to whether it’s right for them. The trouble is when brands stard to follow this herd mentally it does become depressing. Hopefully, like the evolution of most trends, things will level off. I firmly believe there are enough of us around who clamour for good writing. Apologies for my essay!

I always feel like I’m in the minority when I say that I prefer to read a blog post than watch a video, so it’s good to know I’m not the only one! There are a few bloggers who do really good vlogs that I enjoy, but for the most part I find watching a video too passive – I much prefer to read a well-written text post. Your written style is one of the reasons I keep coming back to your blog – you don’t need a video camera to communicate your personality! ~ Kate

I agree with social media, is so important. As for videos, I can’t watch them, I feel it takes too much time. I watched a haul video for 10 minutes and is not something I could do again. I read fast and I prefer reading instead of listening. I have a few videos when I feel they are more relevant than a picture, for example when I went sea kayaking for the first time and it’s a couple of minutes in length.

I’m so so so glad to learn I’m not the only person who hates the video craze! I mostly read blogs at work or on my phone, so no I don’t care about your video review… Ahem. Anyway, it’s refreshing to see people still appreciating writing because personally I’ve always felt like that was my forte even though I have grown to love photography. I just hate that people want you to be a professional photographer before reading your blog because I feel like people should be recognized for whatever their best talents are. If that’s not photography that should be ok. I guess Instagram is partly to blame for this craze too.

Hello! I stumbled across your piece via a retweet and am so pleased I clicked onto it… I have been pondering this myself lately. I write a blog because I like to write – seems so obviously when you put it like that but these days, a blog, as you say is about so much more! I’m definitely working on improving my photography but at the end of the day, I’ll always spend more effort on the words as that’s what I’m truly passionate about!

I feel like videos take more of my time as a reader to watch, so I usually save them for later and try to set a time to watch them… but I can’t do other things like listen to music, i feel like it saps too much of my attention 😉 They are fun once in awhile I guess… Snapchat and Periscope I tried to get… Like in the understanding part. I downloaded them on my phone, followed some bloggers, watched a few and was like… um. I don’t get it. It seems like a thing for people that are always on their phone. Which I am not. Guess that means I am old already 😉

Well, I found a lot of food for thought here, and in the comments, particularly about video. I’m really torn. I do like occasional videos from a blogger, because I like the sense of connection that comes from it (but I don’t feel I miss it if they never use video), especially when I’ve been following a while. It’s fun to find out how they sound etc.

But I’m in the crowd here that has to go out of my way to actually watch video. I’m often checking blogs while breastfeeding, and nothing distracts a feeding baby like a video playing behind their head! So too much video content and I’m over it, and it has to feel like it was worth it, or I won’t bother next time!

I’m thinking about doing my first video for a tutorial soon, so I’m taking all these thoughts in. Although I am generally shy, years of teaching have made me prefer to just get in front of people and wing it over the tiring (to me) process of writing and editing. I’m definitely not a writer! Perhaps both written/photo and video options are a good idea…

The change to YouTube etc is definitely something that’s bothering me a bit! Personally, I do love YouTube and I have a fair few YouTubers I’m subscribed to. However, not one of them has a physical blog, or at least not one that they actually write in fairly frequently.

It is bothering me that there are some blogs I stumble upon and half the posts are linked to just their YouTube videos – if I wanted to watch it, I’d already be looking at it on there! I certainly don’t plan on making the change, though I suppose I keep a fair bit more anonymous than you and other bloggers do!

Count me amongst the “boo to video” crowd. I usually read blogs on breaks at work or late in the evening when hubby is sleeping, so I just skip over videos. If it is something that really interests me I’ll try to come back to it later, but it often slips my mind once I’ve scrolled on past.

First of all, I am commenting because I read your recent post about the lack of commenting on blogs. I have always read but never commented. For some unknown reason, I always thought bloggers wouldn’t really be interested in comments from non-bloggers. I’m not sure why I felt that way, but there it is.

I read your blog for the writing. The images are beautiful, but it is the writing that keeps me coming back. When I found your blog I actually went back and read through your archives. I really enjoy the way you write and how your personality comes through.

I started a blog very recently and have been really surprised by how much besides writing is required to have a blog. It is definitely intimidating, especially when I see all the polished and professional blogs out there.

Ah, that’s really interesting! I actually LOVE getting comments from non-bloggers – when someone doesn’t have a blog of their own to promote, it shows that they genuinely connected with the post, and had something to say about it. Not that bloggers DON’T sound genuine, obviously, but you do get a lot of bloggers who are obviously just commenting because they want to get their link out there, which is really disheartening!

I’m quite new to reading your blog, which I very much enjoy and now read every morning, but I keep thinking we are similar in ways (in other ways than just sharing a first name!) I am a writer first and foremost too, I’m actually a writer /photographer for a magazine here in Gippsland in Australia, as well as writing my blog, and all I really like doing is the writing side. Totally agree with you on all of what you said. Enjoy your writing style too, by the way, I think we even have a similar sense of humour. It’s very weird! Have a great day Amber. Amberhttp://www.sweetwordsprettypictures.com

My biggest issue is social media…if you have a blog you’re expected to have all of the accompanying social media accounts to go with it…and to me that’s a bit redundant. I feel like I’m getting on peoples nerves and spamming if I post on instagram, tumblr, facebook AND my blog. But it seems to be like that’s the expectation these days!

OH and blogger PR events. I went to my first one this month and it was the most awkward thing in the world. I literally had NO IDEA who any of the other bloggers were because none of them were fashion bloggers and it was a matter of I had no idea who they were and they had no idea who I was. I later worked out that every single one of them was a mummy blogger, so I had basically walked into a mums group meeting. My friend who was there too, also a fashion blogger, found the whole experience pretty uncomfortable since we are in our early 20s and blog about fashion…not diapers/pacifiers/spitup…

This is interesting, because it’s exactly how I’ve always imagined blogger meetups would be! Even if the other bloggers were writing within my genre, I’m just not the kind of person who can walk into a room full of strangers and just start chatting away – I get really nervous, which makes me seem stand-offish, and then it’s just a downward spiral from there, really.

I also know what you mean about social media – it’s just so much to think about. I automate it all as much as I can, because I just don’t have the time to be on top of tons of different accounts all the time, but then I worry that I’m coming across as rude to the people who are tweeting me, or leaving comments on Instagram, Facebook, Google +, Pinterest and God knows where else – I really miss the days when people JUST commented on the blog itself, so you knew you weren’t missing anything. I never deliberately ignore questions etc, but I find it really easy to miss comments on social media, and it stresses me out a bit, because I know it must seem rude to people who don’t realise that I can’t keep track of all of those different networks 24/7!

The reason many of us read your blog every day is that it is obvious you are a WRITER! I get really turned off by vlogs rather than blogs! I just love to read, and your voice is amongst the most engaging out there on the inter webs.

Video is the thing I hate the most. I can handle the social media and the more enforced socializing in general, but I haaaaaate video. I can’t stand vlogs. I hate when a blogger who normally writes posts a “video update”. I never watch them, and too many of them chases me away from following a blogger I may have formerly liked. I just can’t stand them. They almost never add anything of positive value to a blog, and when bloggers I liked have sought out periscope or snapchat, what I’ve discovered is basically how much their “curated online brand” doesn’t match their actual personality.

I don’t read blogs like I read magazines – discovering that a blogger I liked isn’t at all who she is on her blog makes me shrug, a little sadly, and hit ‘unfollow’.

I do hate the frenzy to be on ALL THE SOCIAL MEDIA ALL AT ONCE NOW NOW NOW. It creates such a sense of FOMO and there’s enough of that in my everyday IRL!

I have a blog that is primarily writing – primarily humorous ramblings about my life on top of that. I run a twitter and a pinterest and an instagram – but they’re all just my Pinterest, my twitter my instagram. I’m the same person on the blog as I am in life (albeit a little funnier, since I can rewrite before anyone reads it). That’s what I’m looking for, and it seems like it’s increasingly hard to find. And, as a blogger, it’s increasingly hard to get anyone to look at you twice unless you fit the “aspirational” concept.

I think I’m lucky in that I came to (fashion) blogging in 2015. I’ve been a book blogger for years though, and thankfully, that “genre” of blogging – for lack of a better term – is still all about the writing, for obvious reasons. When I started fashion and lifestyle blogging I just assumed (I know, I know) that all these photographs and super-savvy social media mavens were just de rigueur, and it forced me into a new mindset and a whole new way of blogging.

I have to say I’m a little sad to hear that I missed what I would consider the glory days of fashion blogging, because I’m ALL about the writing. Which is why your blog is my one of my all-time favorites ^_^

I’m not sure how well I’ll do in the future, because Pinterest, a little Twitter (because, drama), and Instagram are about the only social media platforms I can stand. And vlogging for me is just a big ole “NOPE”.

Oh, I don’t think fashion blogging has ever really been just about writing… when I said you used to be able to just write a post and hit publish, I was mainly talking about personal blogging, where you’d just WRITE about your life, but not necessarily think to include photos of it. I think fashion blogging (and obviously outfit blogging) is one of the exceptions to that – it’s always been fairly image-based, for obvious reasons! (I did used to write fora shoe blog, though, and we’d just have tiny photos of the shoes, which seems really weird to me now!)

I only watch videos because I’m incredibly nosey, mostly about accents really. Other than that I never watch tutotorials and once I’ve heard someones voice once, I don’t watch tend to watch further videos. If I clicked through to a blog post that was just a video I would instantly shut that down and leave.

I tend to save your wordier posts for a day when I have time to sit down and read them properly and respond. Other blogs I can click through and look at pictures whilst eating lunch or putting the baby to bed. To summarise, there is a place for you as a writer on my internet 🙂

I also hate watching videos – I also hate it when people play videos out loud in public – irks me something rotten.

My ultimate love: GIFs. Gimme a moving picture set over a video any day.

I also get very excited when I find a video along with a transcript! I can get all the information I need by scanning it in 1 minute when I don’t even know if the video answers what I am looking for – and takes 10 minutes to watch.

I think it’s because I’m such a fast reader that I get impatient waiting for a video to get to the point.

Well I’ve been blogging forever (or close to it) and haven’t managed to grow an audience much… I’m sure it’s because I don’t make sure I always have pictures and I’m really bad at networking. But I also can’t stand clickbait. Clickbait is a serious problem in my opinion. Quality content just gets drowned out.

I think there will always be room for good writing on the internet. As a few people have already mentioned, I go to blogs for one thing and videos for other things. There is immense pressure to ‘keep up’ in the blogging world, but I always remind myself that the beauty of this whole thing is that YOU get to decide what you do, how often you do it, etc. There isn’t a set standard for blogging, which is amazing considering how far it has come in recent years.

If starting a blog gets the creative vibes flowing and a person decides to try their hand at video, that’s totally cool. Doing it simply because you feel like you have to, like with most things, will always show.

I am a firm believer in doing what feels right for you. And that you can spread yourself too thin on social media! I stick to a small number of social media platforms (and I’ve never been on Facebook, much to the surprise of most people I speak to!) I’m OK with that. It works for me.

Oh, and I totally feel your pain from spending time setting up and shooting photos only to later find that they are all blurry!! Gah! xx

I dislike vlogging and social media – I don’t use either of them (except pinterest. I love pinterest). I think social media takes up way too much time (I need to blog, look at Facebook, send out a tweet, post an instagram pic….. too much for me, I have other things to do), and videos are too intrusive. I can skim read a post and skip bits I don’t want to read or just stop reading, but you have to watch a video all the way through as there is no way to skim it but still pick up the gist of what it’s saying. So I never watch videos.

But I am a reader, just like you, and good writing will always draw me in. There is a healthy food writer with recipes I really like, but when she writes the intro to each post it’s full of words like ‘creamy deliciousness’ and ‘scummy wonderfulness’, basically words to fill up space and I find that really annoying so I don’t follow her blog daily, I just have a look if I want some healthy food inspiration.

Your blog, though, I read because of the writing – the articles aren’t always relevant to me but, as I said, I love good writing.

On the subject of photos, I love a beautiful photo at the top of a post and have often wondered if bloggers take there own photos or buy stock photography (assuming the photo is just showing something generic, not personal).

(If anyone reading this looks at my blog, it is very new and doesn’t even have a decent theme yet, let alone good photos – a work in progress!)

This is such a great post Amber – I feel as if you have plucked these thoughts straight out of my head as this is a subject that’s been on my (and many of my fellow ‘old school’ bloggers) mind a lot recently. I love to write, and always have. And similar to you, when I started blogging that’s all I did – no pictures, no editing, no social media – I just used my blog as an online diary and wrote my thoughts for the day. I’ve still got some of those posts and when I read them now, I mean *cringe*, and the photos I did put up were such bad quality so in some ways I like that things have moved on and I’ve pushed myself creatively to create better quality words and photography. But in other ways I miss the instant gratification that came with simply typing some thoughts out on my blog and not worrying about all the extras. Sometimes the editing of pics for a post alone can take as long as 4 hours to get them how I want them but yet the writing part – that comes so easy I could write four posts in that time. I blabber on a lot in my posts and love to do so (and that’s also the type of posts I love to read which is why I adore your blog so much) but I’m constantly told that I write too much. Every tutorial on blogging, every brand that comes to me for a sponsored post etc etc they all say to keep things concise so as to keep readers interested. Apparently it’s very rare for readers to get all the way to the end of a post that has more than 500 words… but for me that’s one thing I just won’t change. Even though I now blog professionally I still see my blog as ‘my’ space, ‘my’ diary and it’s the one place I’ll allow myself to blabber on to my hearts content, let the words flow and get all my thoughts out. And *usually* it’s the posts that I don’t overthink or the ones that I just write freely that get the most response so there definitely must still be some readers who enjoy that type of content. I do worry that I’m of a generation of blogging that may soon be forgotten and that unless I can combat my fear of speaking to a camera and utilising video I may get left behind. But on the other hand I think you will only be truly successful at something when your heart is in it and you have the passion for it. For me my passion will always be writing so for now I’m playing to my strengths and continuing to blabber on for over 500 words in most posts in the hope that at least some people still love to read that.

Thanks for sharing this great post! As always you’ve written beautifully and coherently!

It’s funny how more brands prefer using a video medium, especially if they want to ‘promote’ an item. Stereotypically speaking, writing is far more polished than a video. a video is beautifully candid but after a while I do find myself a little annoyed by the over use of idiosyncrasies. Even so, there are many ways to add character to writing without utilising cuts to silly faces and drawn out hellos. Hence I prefer reading writing than watching a video, simply because I find it delivers a message in a much more affable way. But that’s just a penny for my thoughts.

I am so behind with the only blog I actually keep up with, yours, so I’m having myself a little marathon session this evening, and I felt I had to chime in somewhere. I can relate to these points completely. I’ve not been blogging near as long as you, but I’ve seen some of these changes myself. Ah, the blog photography. I’m currently working on that, and as much as I like it, it just makes my posts take a little longer to post. And the new trend towards video, ugh. My guy told me when I was getting into blogging to skip the blog and go straight for the vlog…. Uh, nah, not me – totally socially awkward over here. I will stick to the written posts for as long as I possibly can. Gotta go now, I still have your vacation to read all about… 😀

I discovered your website like an hour ago and I stuck around because your writing is so fun and genuine! It’s actually been a long time since I’ve spent this long on a blog.. I love videos maybe for an e-course, but when it comes to blogs I always go back to the ones who write the best content.

I’ve had this post bookmarked for months but have only remembered to read it, but my goodness am I glad I did! This was so interesting to read and something that I think isn’t discussed enough. Writing is my strong point, it’s where I feel comfortable, and I have to say when I began blogging I had no idea that there was so much more that comes with it. I don’t exactly conform to these things though. I don’t have much of a presence on Twitter and my photographs can be horrendous at times but I try my best not to care because I know that my writing makes up for it. And if beautiful photography and attending blogger events will make me a ‘successful’ blogger, then I’d rather not, because my writing comes before all of that. I hope I’ve articulated my thoughts coherently, reading back I feel like it’s a little jumbled aha. Brilliant post lovely, thoroughly enjoyed reading!!